My thoughts on the Phillies season.

The Phils lose the final game of the three-game series with the BoSox, 5-2.

The Phils, thanks to losing their starter Cole Hamels, lose the final game of their three-game series with the BoSox, 5-2.

The Red Sox broked up a 0-0 tie in the fifth, after Cole Hamels is taken out of the ballgame to have his right (non-pitching) hand x-rayed to see if it might have been broken when he used it to stop a line drive hit by Adrian Gonzalez with one man out in the fourth (which showed that it had a contusion), as, with a runner on third, and with one man out, Drew Sutton hits an RBI single, scoring Josh Reddick, who had earlier tripled on a ball badly played by Ben Francisco, giving the BoSox a 1-0 lead. Three batters later, with runners on the corners, as Sutton reached third base on a Marco Scutaro single, and now with two men out, Jacoby Ellsbury hits an RBI single, scoring Sutton, giving the Red Sox a 2-0 lead, while sending Scutaro, who had earlier singled, up to second base. The Red Sox made it a 3-0 lead in the sixth as, with two men out, Jason Varitek hits a solo home run, his fourth home run of the year. The BoSox added to their lead in the eighth as, with one man out, Dustin Pedroia hits a solo home run, his seventh home run of the year. The Red Sox then made it a 5-0 lead as the next batter, Varitek, hits a solo home run of his own, his fifth home run of the season, and his second of the ballgame. The Phils finally got on the scoreboard in the ninth as, with one man on, and with one man out, Ryan Howard hits a two-run home run, his seventeenth home run of the season, knocking in Placido Polanco, who had earlier singled, cutting the BoSox’s lead to 5-2. But that would be the final score as Jonathan Papelbon recorded his fifteenth save of the season by striking out Raul Ibanez, looking, for the final out.

Cole Hamels received a no-decision as he is taken out of the game because of an injury after having pitched four scoreless innings, giving up just two hits, while striking out two. David Herndon (0-2, 4.61) took the lost as he went two innings, giving up three runs on five hits, while he struck out one. Andrew Carpenter pitched two innings, giving up two runs on four hits, while he struck out four. Scott Mathieson pitched a scoreless inning, giving up two hits and a walk. Jon Lester (10-4, 3.43) got the win as he pitched seven shutout innings, giving up just two hits and two walks, while striking out five. Daniel Bard pitched a 1-2-3 inning, striking out a batter. Bobby Jenks pitched a third of an inning, giving up two runs on two hits and a walk. Jonathan Papelbon recorded his fifteenth save of the year as he pitched two-thirds of an inning, striking out a batter.

The Phils had just four hits in the game, with Ryan Howard leading the team with two hits, a single and a home run, knocking in both Phils’ run. Placido Polanco and Chase Utley had the other two Phils’ hits, both singles, as Jon Lester controlled the offense during his seven innings of work, before handing the ball to the bullpen.

The Phils (51-31, 1st NL East) will begin a three-game interleague play series with the Blue Jays (45-36, 3rd AL East) tomorrow night at the Rogers Centre. The game will start at 7:05 pm EDT. The Phils will send to the mound Kyle Kendrick (4-4, 3.23), who is coming off a relief appearance against the Cardinals on June 23, when he went four innings, giving up two runs on five hits and a walk, in the Phils’ 12-2 lost. He will be trying to give the Phils the opening win in their final interleague series. The Blue Jays will counter with Ricky Romero (7-7, 2.74), who is coming off a win against the Cardinals on June 26, as he pitched a complete game, giving up just four hits and two walks, while striking out five, in the Blue Jays’ 5-0 win. He will be out to give the Phils trouble. The Phils will be out to win the first game of their final interleague play series, to guarantee that they have a second straight year with a winning record in interleague play.

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